Brexit boss says anxiety understandable

Leading Brexit businessman Tim Martin, founder
of the Wetherspoons pub chain, has said anxiety

about leaving the European Union was
"understandable".
But he told the BBC that there was no need to
"rush into" EU exit talks.
On Saturday, EU leaders called for negotiations
to start "as soon as possible" now that the UK
has voted to leave the bloc.
"They are saying that because they are in a real
panic; they have no cards to play," Mr Martin
said.
He added: "Contrary to what some people think,
we are in a much stronger position than the EU.
We can afford to take our time."
The UK has a more prosperous economy with
lower unemployment, and should wait until a new
prime minister is chosen before entering talks,
he said.
'Anxiety'
His comments come after another Leave
supporter, JCB's chairman Lord Bamford, said
the UK had "little to fear from leaving the EU".
The Wetherspoons chairman said "anxiety is
understandable but it's a vote for democracy".
"Businesses never regret increased democracy
because democracy and prosperity are
inextricably linked," he told the BBC.
Shares in Wetherspoons dropped 8% on Friday as
the FTSE 250 index, on which it is listed,
suffered its biggest ever daily slide in the wake
of the referendum result.
But Mr Martin said: "In 1987 there was a stock
market slump by 27% and the economy boomed
for the next couple of years.
"There's a good chance the economy will pick
up following Brexit."
That will partly come from a cheaper pound, he
said, after it touched 30-year lows against the
dollar on Friday.
'Urgency'
Ruth Lea, economic adviser at the Arbuthnot
Banking Group and a Leave supporter, said that
despite the share falls, fears of another stock
market crash did not materialise.
She told the BBC's Today programme that she
also expected "trade to continue very much as it
is today" with the EU, even after the UK leaves.
Talks will start when the prime minister triggers
an EU clause called Article 50, a decision David
Cameron left to his successor when he
announced on Friday that he would step down .
Earlier, European Commission president Jean-
Claude Juncker said a proposed delay in those
talks "doesn't make sense".
German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier
agreed that talks should begin "as soon as
possible", while his French counterpart Jean-
Marc Ayrault said there was "a certain urgency".